tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123Thu, 18 Dec 2014 01:16:18 +0000PoliticsGovernmentPlanningGrowthCoalEnvironmentElectionsLakeEconomicDevelopmentEnergyBudgetsPersonalCitizenshipWaterfrontTaxesGreenwaysHumorAnnexationNeighborhoodsSunshineWater/SewerHealthcareReconveyanceLibraryParksStormwaterLEEDSportsWRIA-1PortLandlordsTransportationBlogNEWSOlympicPipeLineWAL-MARTWarCharterLivingWageBuddhistPFDParkingCensusTDRsHamsterTalkStraight Talk about Issues in Bellinghamhttp://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (John Watts)Blogger518125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-27777292434473950Wed, 17 Dec 2014 04:22:00 +00002014-12-17T17:16:18.475-08:00NeighborhoodsPlanningGrowthHousing: ADUs & In-Law UnitsAn interesting 'News from City Hall' article appeared this week in the Glen Park News, a San Francisco neighborhood publication.<br />Written by Scott Wiener, a District Representative on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, it advocates a viable method of encouraging more affordable housing in existing neighborhoods.<br />I think its worth a read, so here it is, quoted verbatim:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>I'm soliciting feedback from Glen Park residents about possible legislation to allow Glen Park property owners to add secondary units - also known as in-law units or accessory units - into the existing envelope of their buildings. The legislation also includes Noe Valley,&nbsp;<i>(another nearby neighborhood) </i>and would track successful legislation I authored earlier this year to allow new in-law units in the Castro.&nbsp;<i>(another nearby neighborhood) </i>I'll be attending the January Glen Park Association meeting to discuss the proposal.&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>San Franciscans disagree about many issues, but one fact on which we all agree is that our city is in the midst of a housing crisis. Rents are through the roof, and home prices are increasingly out of reach for middle and working-class people. We need to employ various strategies to address this problem, including building more housing in general, creating affordable housing and keeping people stable in their existing housing.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>One strategy to address our city's housing needs is to allow and encourage people to add in-law units in their existing buildings - for example, by converting garages, large storage areas or partially above-ground basements into living units.&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>According to various studies, in-law units are the most affordable type of non-subsidized housing, since they tend to be modest in nature and on the ground floor. They're also ideal for seniors and people who have trouble getting up and down stairs. They can be a good option for housing family members or simply for creating new rental units.</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>San Francisco has historically been hostile to in-law units, but that dynamic is changing as more and more people recognize that we must create additional, diverse housing opportunities for our residents. The Board of Supervisors recently passed legislation I authored to allow existing illegal in-law units to be legalized, and also passed legislation I authored to allow for the creation of new in-law units in the Castro. I'm currently authoring legislation for owners of buildings undergoing seismic retrofits to add in-law units while they're at it.&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>The Castro legislation, on which the Glen Park-Noe Valley legislation will be based, allows owners to add either one or two in-law units into their buildings, depending on the buildings' size. The units must be within the existing envelope of the building - that is, a building's height or bulk cannot be expanded to create the unit - and must be created from spaces not currently being used for residential purposes. An existing residential unit cannot be divided to create an in-law unit.&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>The Building Code will be applied flexibly, similar to the treatment of historic buildings under the State Historic Building Code, except for life safety issues. In-law units in rent-controlled buildings will also be rent-controlled. Under our City code, if a garage is converted into living unit, the associated curb cut must be removed and the full curb restored, which usually creates a new street parking space.&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>I look forward to receiving feedback from the community and to discussing the proposal at the January Glen Park Association meeting.</b></blockquote><br />Hopefully, this concept can be used in Bellingham, notwithstanding that our housing problems are nowhere near as severe as San Francisco's.<br />----------------------------------------------------http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2014/12/housing-adus-in-law-units.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-7037646885767136235Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:01:00 +00002014-07-23T16:13:37.374-07:00CoalEconomicDevelopmentEnergyEnvironmentGovernmentPoliticsGPT: It's Never Over, 'Til It's OverIt was probably someone like Yogi Berra who stated the obvious quote above, but he was right, not only above baseball, but other things as well.<br /><br />The proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal [GPT] and the well-financed folks behind it are an example of something many people oppose for good reasons that seems to have a momentum all its own.<br />Our community and others have expressed serious concerns about this project and the impacts it will have should it ever come to fruition. Yet, like a ravenous stalking predator, it keeps coming back.<br /><br />It's quite possible that the only solution to the dangers GPT represents can only be the purchase of the property and physically removing it from consideration as a major coal export site.<br />Depending upon the cost, that solution could well be much cheaper than the cumulative myriad costs of social and environment harms that would certainly be externalized to the public should GPT ever be permitted to operate.<br /><br />But GPT is only one such self-serving venture, albeit the one closest to our community. There are many others, known and in planning that could impose similar harms.<br /><br />Several months have elapsed since I last blogged on the subject of GPT and related topics, but fortunately several others have been following it closely and reporting what they've found.<br /><br />Today's Crosscut carries Floyd McKay's latest report, entitled<a href="http://crosscut.com/2014/07/23/coal-ports/121127/coal-port-bellingham-could-ramp-rapidly/"> '<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Karla, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.2em;">Coal exports from Bellingham could ramp up rapidly</span></span>'</a>.<br /><br />I strongly suggest reading it.<br />-----------http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2014/07/gpt-its-never-over-til-its-over.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-1223479653988645918Tue, 01 Jul 2014 17:21:00 +00002014-07-06T15:18:07.400-07:00CitizenshipElectionsGovernmentPoliticsUS Constitution: A Mix of Six Fixes<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">After an almost 8-month&nbsp;hiatus from publishing any blog, I must proclaim any rumors of my demise are premature.</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><br />Now, after several months of reading and study, I especially recommend a short, clearly written book by former US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, entitled <b><i>‘Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution’.</i></b></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><br />Of the the six proposed Amendments; <i>'</i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>the </i><b><i>first four</i></b><i> would nullify judge-made rules</i></span><i>, the </i><b><i>fifth</i></b><i> would </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>expedite the demise of the death&nbsp;penalty</i></span><i>, and the </i><b><i>sixth</i></b><i> would </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>confine the coverage of the Second Amendment to the area intended by its authors</i></span><i>’</i>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><br />Because each suggested 'fix' is explained in terms of its judicial history - and the entire US Constitution appears as an Appendix - understanding Justice Stevens' arguments is readily facilitated.</div><div style="font-size: 16px;">Also, the 'fixes' suggested are relatively terse, fitting easily into existing Constitutional context.&nbsp;</div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>1. The "Anti-Commandeering" Rule</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;">FIX: The Constitution should amended by <i>adding four words</i> to the Supremacy Clause in the second paragraph of Article VI, to wit:</div><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><i>"This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges </i></b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>and other public officials</i></b></span><b><i> in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."</i></b></blockquote><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>2. Political Gerrymandering</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;">FIX:&nbsp;The Constitution should amended by adding the following paragraph:</div><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>“Districts represented by members of Congress, or by members of any state legislative body, shall be compact and composed of contiguous territory. The state shall have the burden of justifying any departures from this requirement by reference to neutral criteria such as natural, political, or historic boundaries or demographic changes. The interest in enhancing or preserving the political party in control of the state government is not such a neutral criterion.”</i></b></span></blockquote><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>3. Campaign Finance</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;">FIX: The Constitution should amended by adding the following paragraph:</div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><i>[in part prompted by concerns with the chain of US Supreme Court decisions leading up to “Citizens United’]</i>:</div><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>“Neither the First Amendment nor any other provision of this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit the Congress or any state from imposing reasonable limits on the amount of money that candidates for public office, or their supporters, may spend in election campaigns.”</i></b></span></blockquote><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>4. Sovereign Immunity</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;">FIX:&nbsp;The Constitution should amended by adding the following paragraph:</div><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>“Neither the Tenth Amendment, the Eleventh Amendment, nor any provision of this Constitution, shall be construed to provide any state, state agency, or state officer with an immunity from liability for violating any act of Congress, or any provision of this Constitution.”</i></b></span></blockquote><div style="font-size: 16px;"><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>5. The Death Penalty</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;">FIX: The Constitution should amended by <i>adding five words</i> to the text of the Eighth Amendment, to wit:</div><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><i>“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments </i></b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>such as the death penalty</i></b></span><b><i> inflicted.”</i></b></blockquote><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>6. The Second Amendment (Gun Control)</b></span> <br />FIX: The Constitution should amended by <i>adding five words</i> to the text of the Second Amendment, to wit:</div><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><i>“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms </i></b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>when serving in the militia</i></b></span><b><i> shall not be infringed.”</i></b></blockquote><div style="font-size: 16px; min-height: 19px;"><b><i></i></b><br /></div><div style="font-size: 16px;">=========================</div><br /><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that we know what fixes are needed, all we have to do is to convince Congress to allow state ratification of these changes. Just a little detail......</span></div><div><br /></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2014/07/us-constitution-mix-of-six-fixes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-1402272415770080095Wed, 06 Nov 2013 19:00:00 +00002013-11-06T01:33:31.724-08:00CitizenshipElectionsGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsPortElections ThoughtsFor some time, I've felt a declining joyousness about our local elections process and the growing obstacles that threaten it, but today's local results have helped reverse that trend.<br /><br />Even though about 5000 ballots remain to be counted and certification isn't until 1/26, I'm happy with the direction Whatcom County voters have taken, to wit:<br /><br />• All four progressive candidates for County Council lead by substantial margins<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;[Weimer, Mann, Browne, Buchanan]<br /><br />• Both progressive candidates for Port of Bellingham Commission also lead<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;[McAuley, Kowalczyk]<br /><br />• Two first-time City Council candidates, both young women, have wide leads<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;[Vargas, Murphy]<br /><br />• Initiative 517, another Tim Eyman exercise, is failing statewide<br />-------<br /><br />Despite all that is right in our system, there are some glaring flaws that need to be fixed to ensure that principles of fairness, equity and openness are always evident.<br /><br />Here are a few:<br /><br />• The Citizens United SCOTUS decision that corporations are persons and money is speech needs reversing!<br /><br />• PACs and other corporate gimmicks badly need the -timely- light of day<br /><br />• The role of 'outside' money in local elections needs serious questioning<br /><br />• Gerrymandering needs to be curtailed by redistricting to ensure no 'safe' seats<br /><br />• Notwithstanding the 1st Amendment, political speech needs to be more accurate and truthful, especially in mass media and mass mailings<br /><br />• Candidates should agree, in advance, to attend Forums and answer Questionnaires to demonstrate their comprehension and explain their positions on Issues<br /><br />• PDC [Public Disclosure Commission] rules and guidelines need to be strengthened and enforced<br /><br />• Wider voter awareness and participation<br /><br />There are probably other flaws that need fixing, too.<br />-------------<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cascadiaweekly.com/currents/opinion/realignment">Today's Gristle</a> is a good read that weaves some political contemporary history into these latest election results.<br />Don't you agree that the incoming County Council ought to address the egregious current Planning Commission very soon?<br />I believe new appointments such be undertaken as a first order of business, in the interest of decent planning in compliance with the Growth Management Act!<br />That would give reasonable certainty for all citizens, plus reduce the unnecessary costs of continuing to deny that GMA guidelines need to be followed.<br /><br />http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/11/elections-thoughts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-20340971838270172Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:04:00 +00002013-10-08T21:13:02.046-07:00BudgetsElectionsGovernmentPoliticsA Sad Day For America<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">George Washington's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington's_Farewell_Address">Farewell Address</a>&nbsp;<span style="color: red;">*[see below]</span> warned against certain dangers to our&nbsp;Constitution by political factions;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 6px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>While Washington accepts the fact that it is natural for people to organize and operate within groups like political parties, he also argues that <u>every government has recognized political parties as an enemy and has sought to repress them because of their tendency to seek more power than other groups and take revenge on political opponents.</u></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 6px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Washington goes on to acknowledge the fact that parties are sometimes beneficial in promoting liberty in monarchies but argues that<u> political parties must be restrained in a popularly elected government because of their tendency to distract the government from their duties, create unfounded jealousies among groups and regions, raise false alarms amongst the people, promote riots and insurrection, and provide foreign nations and interests access to the government where they can impose their will upon the country.</u></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">------</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our governmental shutdown is inexcusable and hurts everyone.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That a few political ideologues have conspired to inflict&nbsp;this&nbsp;calamity on&nbsp;our -and their- country is incredibly stupid. There is no other word to describe it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">House Speaker John Boehner has shown such a lack of leadership and courage that he has literally become a parody of a power broker, worthy of disdain.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Small wonder Congress's 'approval' rating is 10% or less.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Care to guess who is included in that 10%?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mr Boehner, why won't you even allow a simple vote on the budget?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Be honest now and try not to engage in self-serving spin; is holding onto your job title more important than having the courage to buck those radicals who covet it?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, what goes around, comes around.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Republicans have made their nest and now must live in it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe, these self-styled Tories will come to see the error of their ways, do their job and let our government return to normalcy, but don't count on it!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The 'my way or the highway' attitude exhibited against nearly every goal or achievement advocated by President Obama since his election, has no useful place in a representative democracy.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is a juvenile, divisive and ultimately self-defeating strategy that should not be rewarded, but instead discouraged.</span><br /><br />Hopefully, the current impasse will soon be over, but how can anyone claim victory?<br />George Washington would likely shed a tear.<br />----------------<br /><br /><h3 style="background-image: none; border-bottom-style: none; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-size: small;">* Reading in Congress</span></span></h3><div style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">In January 1862, during the&nbsp;American Civil War, thousands of&nbsp;Philadelphia&nbsp;residents signed a petition requesting the&nbsp;Congress&nbsp;to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Washington's birth by reading his Farewell Address "in one or the other of the Houses of Congress.”&nbsp;First read in the&nbsp;United States House of Representatives&nbsp;in February 1862, the reading of Washington's address became a tradition in both houses by 1899.</span></div><div style="font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><u>In 1984, however, the House of Representatives abandoned the practice.</u></span><span style="line-height: 10px; white-space: nowrap;">&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">The&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">Senate</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;continues this tradition into modern times, observing&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">Washington's Birthday</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;by selecting a member of the Senate, alternating between political parties each year, to read the address aloud on the Senate floor.</span></span></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-sad-day-for-america.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-5069847109166566225Mon, 30 Sep 2013 21:46:00 +00002013-09-30T19:00:17.531-07:00BudgetsElectionsGovernmentPoliticsWhen Right Is Wrong<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What's in a word?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Multiple meanings, spellings, pronunciations, nuances.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Right or Wrong,&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Right or Left, etc.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Right-wing politics -euphemistically called 'conservative- does not easily support change, especially so-called 'progressive' change.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That is largely the case with the current threat of shutting down government unless 'ObamaCare' is repealed.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wishful thinking at best by those more interested in silly political posturing!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope Congress does the 'right' thing, and they probably will, eventually.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However this exercise turns out, it is an example of putting selfish interest above the common good, at least in my view.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">--------</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A representative democracy is generally accepted as a proven way -if not the best way- to insure that the will of the people is reflected in law and policy.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, this is not guaranteed; it depends upon those elected doing their best to the benefit of not only their 'constituents', but the entire population.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately, not every elected representative has received this memo, much less honored it both in spirit and deed.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That is not a new problem and is likely to be unresolved unless we make known our expectations of those we chose to represent us.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Freedom is not free, especially unrestricted freedom. Certain constraints are necessary in the name of fairness, equality and civility.&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our founders were amazingly prescient about governance, especially practical and sustainable governance that continually seeks to reflect the will and best interests of people - all people.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, they weren't perfect in defining which people are to be included; which is why our Constitution has always been subject to change by adjustment to include non-property owners, blacks and people of color, women as well as those with diverse beliefs, religions and lifestyles.&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, these changes have not come easily and remain subject to debate among those who prefer to keep those special privileges enjoyed by our 'prescient' founding fathers, mostly wealthy white male property owners.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Are today's elected representatives much different?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, and no.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While our current Congress is more diverse, there remains a large contingent who are very wealthy and many others who seek to become so in currying favor from the hordes of lobbyists and 'special interests' who crowd Washington, DC. In such an environment, the temptation must be strong to represent selfish interests above all others.</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If government is to be of the people, for the people and by the people, then it is necessary to have every person's needs, aspirations and rights equitably addressed, not just a favored few among many.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, that has become increasingly problematic with the ideological stances being taken lately by those who seem to value their own election/reelection goals above those of the good of the entire population.&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The founders intended to have a 'virtuous' government and to encourage 'virtue' in its citizens.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Is this happening?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Will it likely happen without continuous effort?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">How will this effort be generated?&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If our government is intended to reflect us, the citizens, is this actually happening?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If our current government does actually reflect its current citizenry, what does that say about us?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Are we so occupied with distractions that we allow our representatives to act as they are, then play the blame game when things don't go to suit us?&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If that is the case, the founders might not be very happy with us, unless with subliminal thought, they expected a future return to their era, where only rich, white property owners controlled things for their own selfish interests.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Doesn't it seem that the rich and powerful have much more clout than they deserve in our government?</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Without the tyranny of a foreign monarch, the threat from foreign enemies, the fear from foreign terrorists, the competition from foreign economies, the inconvenient menaces of nature itself, we are left with the troubling dilemma of just dealing with ourselves.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As Pogo said, 'the enemy is us.'</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope that Americans, collectively, will reclaim our rightful role in determining what is in our best interests, then require those who represent us to seek reasonable, effective means to achieve it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That includes providing the US Government the adequate means to maintain its essential services, despite any ideological obstacles that arise.</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our representatives need to be held responsible and accountable for their votes and non-votes!</span><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/09/when-right-is-wrong.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-1116721908270841531Sat, 03 Aug 2013 05:36:00 +00002013-08-02T22:38:40.327-07:00CoalEnergyEnvironmentGovernmentPoliticsGPT: Footsteps to Oblivion?August has already provided welcome news to all who have experienced serious reservations about the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal to export coal.<br />Of course, consideration of that proposal must still go through due process, but now the playing field has been leveled considerably and a much more balanced weighing of pros and cons is likely.<br /><br />Whether the current proposal fails won't determine what future proposals may come forward.<br />Even if the GPT site itself is eventually purchased and turned into a park or other restricted use, increased rail traffic to bring petroleum feedstocks to local refineries may become a reality.<br /><br />Here are links to several articles that announce and explain recent developments:<br /><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">• Bellingham Herald:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/07/31/3121522/ecology-will-study-impact-of-coal.html">http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/07/31/3121522/ecology-will-study-impact-of-coal.html</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">• Aftermath of DOE announcement:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/08/01/3123889/roundup-of-items-in-the-aftermath.html">http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/08/01/3123889/roundup-of-items-in-the-aftermath.html</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">• Sightline Article:&nbsp;<a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2013/08/01/another-shoe-drops-for-gateway-pacific/">http://daily.sightline.org/2013/08/01/another-shoe-drops-for-gateway-pacific/</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">• Lummi Nation Letter to USACE:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/08/02/3126384/lummi-nation-sees-no-compromise.html">http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/08/02/3126384/lummi-nation-sees-no-compromise.html</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">• Crosscut Article by Floyd Mckay:&nbsp;<a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/08/01/coal-ports/115793/coal-port-faces-new-level-environmental-scrutiny/">http://crosscut.com/2013/08/01/coal-ports/115793/coal-port-faces-new-level-environmental-scrutiny/</a><br /><br />--------------------------------<br /><i>The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.</i></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/08/gpt-footsteps-to-oblivion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-449789739495146565Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:24:00 +00002013-08-02T21:12:36.589-07:00CoalEconomicDevelopmentEnvironmentGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsGPT & Growth ManagementHere we are at the end of July and I haven't posted for 6 weeks.<br />I'd like to say I've been waiting for some good news, but mostly I've just been otherwise occupied and somewhat lazy, having read two heavy tomes by Jared Diamond;<i><b> Guns, Germs &amp; Steel </b></i>and <i><b>Collapse</b></i>.<br />The former attempts to explain why some societies tend to have "more cargo" -meaning advanced civilizations- while the latter examines the causes of failure of various cultures.<br /><br />These are not easy topics, but the author uses his extensive knowledge and communications skills to condense and simplify things enough for lay persons like me to comprehend, even though it does take a fair amount of time and dedication to the task to get through it!<br /><br />That begs a comparison with some of our current candidates for Whatcom County council, both incumbents and challengers, who seem to have problems understanding what their role should be regarding Growth Management as well as why citizens and organizations - such as RE-Sources and FutureWise- have important roles to play in the planning for our common future.<br /><br />It seems all four 'Republican' candidates for these 'non-partisan' seats have attitudes that they allow to prejudice them against even &nbsp;a public forums that focus on<u> growth planning and the ecology</u>!<br />What is that about? Silly me, thinking such forums are important for the public to see and hear BEFORE voting!<br /><br />Two incumbents - Bill Knudzen and Kathy Kershner - have supported the poor growth planning policies that invited lawsuits and Growth Management Hearings Board actions on behalf of the public, yet they are unwilling to learn any constructive lessons from that! Instead, they choose to continue spending scarce public dollars on silly appeals.<br /><br />The two R challengers - Michele Luke and Ben Elenbaas- are also part of the problem since they serve on the inept County Planning Commission that is responsible for some very stupid recommendations to the County Council!<br />Because of this childish behavior, in fairness, the&nbsp;<u>growth planning and the ecology</u>&nbsp;forum has now been cancelled.<br />Take that voters!<br /><br />But, as sorry as our County Electeds have been regarding Growth Management planning, there is at least one County that is worse, at least according author Jared Diamond.<br />That would be Ravalli County, in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, which has NO planning or consistent zoning despite the crying need that exists in a place with great natural beauty, poor conditions for agricultural enterprises, a declining local economy and wide differences between 'Haves' and 'Have Nots'.<br /><br />Rather than try to paraphrase Mr Diamond's descriptive words, I suggest reading Chapter One in <b><i>Collapse</i></b> for those interested.<br /><br />Regarding GPT, another 'issue' our erstwhile County Council must eventually face - without benefit of much knowledge and understanding - today's news carried an article that indicates the MAP Team has decided to incorporate many of&nbsp;the hundreds of&nbsp;legitimate concerns expressed by citizens by considering impacts from rail traffic and other factors!<br /><br />This latest MAP Team decision is truly good news.<br />Now, maybe our County Electeds won't be winging their 'fact-free' decision as much as they might been so inclined?<br />Let's hope so!<br /><br /><br />http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/07/gpt-growth-management.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-8192498112728600171Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:51:00 +00002013-06-15T12:59:36.796-07:00CoalEconomicDevelopmentElectionsGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsTransportationCoal: A Perfect Storm Ingredient? <i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">From Wikipedia: A "</span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">perfect storm</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">" is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;The term is also used to describe an actual&nbsp;</span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorological_phenomena" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" title="Meteorological phenomena">phenomenon</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;that happens to occur in such a confluence, resulting in an event of unusual magnitude.</span></i><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">An inedible recipe: Skagit River bridge collapse. Coal trains for export. Normal events: commuting, business, EMS, school buses, bike rides, Tulip Festival. Public expense. Private exemption.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">-------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">The past 10 days has seen me travel I-5 to Seattle twice for medical purposes, during which I also experienced the traffic delays caused by the Skagit River bridge's collapse. That little boo-boo was simply caused by an over sized truck colliding with the bridge structure. Of course, the public will pay for rebuilding the bridge, both in terms of government funding and its own inconvenience - including cumulative loss of business and personal time. That is to be expected. But, the unintended consequences of this accidental event caused me to think about how sensitive we are to compounded problems which radiate from such catastrophes.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">For example, the detours required to bypass the I-5 bridge travel through adjacent areas that are unaccustomed and unequipped for the volume of traffic, making these alternatives more dangerous as well as slower. Also, the main detour to the west must cross the Skagit River downstream, in constricted Mt Vernon streets, before having to cross the BNSF mainline -<i>at grade</i>- to return to I-5. That creates other problems that also depend on train traffic. See how things can snowball and&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">escalate to larger proportions?&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Now, let's turn back to the proposed GPT proposal that carries with it the prospect of up to 18 additional 1.5 -mile long coal trains per day. Many of the EIS comments submitted cited the inconvenience, danger, and major capital funding necessary to alleviate&nbsp;these problems. Guess what, unexpected events like the Skagit River bridge collapse would/will greatly compound the problem of dealing with many more trains! It is this compounding effect that must be anticipated and dealt with effectively and up-front.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Similar thinking was involved with restarting the Olympic Pipe Line after the disaster that occurred back in 1999.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The concept of applied <i>'Process Safety Management'</i> was required of the owner/operator before permission was granted to rebuild/restart the pipeline. That took 18 months to satisfy, but the result was a much safer operation that takes into account most of the events -or sequence of events- that could lead to another leak and explosion. I believe the wait was well-worth the additional safety and public confidence.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Because we are an integrated society, it is fitting that public infrastructure be the responsibility of government, which in turn gains its authority and funding through the public - including private enterprise. However, if private enterprise demands higher privileges regarding infrastructure than it is willing to pay for, then additional considerations must be extracted from it. In the case of coal trains, that should include the costs of grade-separated crossings wherever feasible. Why not include these costs as part of the cost of shipping?&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">You know, those who benefit, pay.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Floyd McKay has contributed two more articles on Crosscut, called the <i>Tale of Two Cities</i>. The first deals with the <a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/06/12/coal-ports/114867/tale-two-cities-ferndale-welcomes-big-coal/">City of Ferndale</a>, which seems to see the proposed GPT Coal Terminal through mostly&nbsp;rose-colored glasses; the second deals with the <a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/06/13/transportation/114940/tale-two-cities-burlington-coal-trains/">City of Burlington</a>, which sees some real problems with GPT, without rose glasses.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">The Skagit River bridge collapse provides a lens through which we can see real life scenarios that are with us now. It doesn't take much imagination to see how much 18 additional coal trains per day would&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">grossly compound such problems, does it? Let's cut out the wishful thinking on GPT and get on with anticipating real problems and their solutions instead.</span></span>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/06/coal-perfect-storm-ingredient.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-6181902288089966668Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:37:00 +00002013-06-05T12:23:32.965-07:00EconomicDevelopmentEnvironmentGovernmentLakePlanningGrowthPoliticsWRIA-1Water Supply: Searching For Certainty In Uncertain TimesThis two-day Symposium [May 30&amp;31] was timely and pretty well attended - at least by those folks who believe the topic is important enough to pay attention.<br />Here is the <a href="http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1112654627530-5/Water+Supply-Searching+For+Certainty+in+Uncertain+Times_Program403013-8.5x11.pdf">link to the announcement, agenda and speaker</a>s.<br />And, here is<a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/06/03/3033006/water-dispute-clouds-future-for.html"> John Stark's article</a> that appeared afterward in the Bellingham Herald<br /><br />The discussions covered primary <i><b>uses</b></i>, including <b><i>Agricultural</i></b>; <b><i>Industrial</i></b>; <b><i>Rural</i></b>; <i><b>Urban</b></i>; and the big unknown, the <b><i>In-Stream Flows</i></b>, necessary to ensure fish can live and propagate.<br />It was on this last&nbsp;'unknown' that the most interesting development was again revealed, in no uncertain terms; both the Lummi and Nooksack tribes have appealed -two years ago- to the Federal Government to clarify and quantify their most senior water rights. Who can blame them?<br /><br />As <a href="http://cascadiaweekly.com/currents/opinion/downstream_of_scarcity">today's Gristle</a> pointed out, only the Feds have jurisdiction over such tribal matters, not the State of Washington; but it is critically important that WRIA-1 water rights be apportioned fairly, not only to ensure adequate In-Stream Flows, but to <i>quantify those rights under jurisdiction of the WA State Dept of Ecology</i>. Largely left out is the groundwater existing in <i>aquifers</i>, which are technically connected by <i>hydraulic continuity,</i> but difficult to completely quantify with the data currently available.<br /><br />In mathematical terms; X - Y = Z, where X is the total amount of water available, Y is the total necessary In-Stream Flow, and Z is the amount of water available for all other uses. No one seems to know these quantities with any accuracy, or at least are not willing to share that information. But, a large amount of data have already been collected over the 7 years that the <i>$4.5 million</i> WRIA-1 program was fully underway, that could approximate at least the overall <i><b>range</b></i> of total water available -by season- in this large drainage.<br /><br />Much of the uncertainty in the Symposium's title relates directly to this question of quantity, and the various <i><b>sub-divisions</b></i> of this quantity necessary to describe the various <i><b>uses</b></i> listed above<i>.</i> It is in the divvying up process that major conflicts will come to light, some to the detriment of those who have become accustomed to claiming water rights that either don't belong to them, or don't exist at all.<br />But, regardless of winners and losers, it is important to resolve this water rights problem sooner rather than later, because it will just get worse as time passes, thus creating more conflict and uncertainty.<br /><br />One point deserves emphasis, while water law seems complicated, the concept of <i><b>usufruct</b></i> applies; &nbsp;that means folks have the right to <i>use</i> the water, not <i>own</i> it. There is a finite amount of water that exists on this planet, and way less than 1% is potable. Our government consists of duly elected officials, whose duty is to face difficult problems like water rights - and resolve them in a fair, transparent public process!<br />So, be careful of who you support for elected office. It does matter that they be held accountable!<br /><br />An earlier blog is worth revisiting, at<a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/04/water-big-thirst.html"> this URL</a>.http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/06/water-supply-searching-for-certainty-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-8620256197252693312Tue, 28 May 2013 03:54:00 +00002013-05-27T20:54:22.808-07:00LakePlanningGrowthPoliticsReconveyanceStormwaterWater/SewerWaterfrontWRIA-1Washington State Water Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last Wednesday, May 22, the Bellingham City Club speaker was Tom McDonald, an experienced expert, who spoke on the subject of <b><i>Washington State Water Law: Whose Water Is It Anyway? And Who Decides? And When? And Will It Be There When I Turn On The Tap?&nbsp;</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a timely presentation&nbsp;since water law will impact upcoming decisions on who has rights to water in the 14 river-sheds in Western Washington. Water is essential for human life and is becoming more scarce and polluted as our population grows. Water will limit growth before our land supply will.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(The presentation outline is reproduced below)</i>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Coming up next Thursday &amp; Friday at the Hampton Inn:&nbsp;<b style="font-style: italic;">Water Supply: Searching for Certainty in Uncertain Times </b>will discuss<b style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp;</b><b><i>What is at risk if water issues are not resolved?&nbsp;</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This two day symposium will focus on water supply issues including the factors influencing availability for in-stream and out-of-stream uses as well as the current status of the water supply in Whatcom County.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qpOCMpz-p3U/UaQcaivv3fI/AAAAAAAAAzs/jHzT1ezGTzY/s1600/Scan1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qpOCMpz-p3U/UaQcaivv3fI/AAAAAAAAAzs/jHzT1ezGTzY/s640/Scan1.jpeg" width="464" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1tQSvwPxrIk/UaQggGXvRfI/AAAAAAAAA0A/jrp_7nT0Gl8/s1600/Scan2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1tQSvwPxrIk/UaQggGXvRfI/AAAAAAAAA0A/jrp_7nT0Gl8/s640/Scan2.jpeg" width="465" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ek-TBks4Xuo/UaQhJPyGzlI/AAAAAAAAA0I/H7HxQ_wHj94/s1600/Scan3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ek-TBks4Xuo/UaQhJPyGzlI/AAAAAAAAA0I/H7HxQ_wHj94/s640/Scan3.jpeg" width="465" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUgs3JOHBFw/UaQhbRvUEDI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/1ugsDABuQNg/s1600/Scan4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUgs3JOHBFw/UaQhbRvUEDI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/1ugsDABuQNg/s640/Scan4.jpeg" width="465" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5u_MF35IKM/UaQhpx744eI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/vzN96S-HiGU/s1600/Scan5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5u_MF35IKM/UaQhpx744eI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/vzN96S-HiGU/s640/Scan5.jpeg" width="465" /></a></div><br />http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/05/washington-state-water-law.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-688844854761037173Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:13:00 +00002013-04-17T23:46:43.643-07:00CoalEconomicDevelopmentElectionsEnergyEnvironmentGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsGPT: A Response to April 13 Bellingham Herald Article<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As promised yesterday, here is my response to the following article, published in the<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 24px;">&nbsp;April 13, 2013 Bellingham Herald:&nbsp;</span><a href="http://bellinghamherald.com/2013/04/13/2951539/terminals-family-wage-jobs-taxes.html#storylink=misearch" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #024f82; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Terminal's family-wage jobs, taxes would aid Whatcom County</a></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #323333;">(Authors:&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #323333;">Brent Goodrich - Ferndale City Council and Bonnie Onyon - Blaine City Council)</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #323333;">-----------------</span></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Article 1 of our Constitution ensures every citizen's right to free speech, including all manner of political or commercial speech that does not unduly malign either the public or other individuals.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Since both Mr Goodrich and Ms Onyon are not only citizens, but elected governmental representatives, what they have written doesn't appear to break any laws, except maybe those of good judgement and balanced accuracy. No, they are likely just expressing their opinions [wishes] while using their public status to influence others to support GPT, despite any drawbacks that plan may be found to have.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I do find it interesting that the authors have admittedly reached their decision of unqualified support in advance - <i><b>a priori </b></i>- of completing the EIS evaluation; but maybe they think they know more than the rest of us, scientists and all? Maybe they do, but that seems highly unlikely.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a retired Chemical Engineer and former elected member of the Bellingham City Council, I also have reviewed the GPT proposal in detail, and found enough insufficiently addressed or unanswered questions to cause major concerns for me as well as many others in Whatcom County and elsewhere. &nbsp;A summary of 32 of these identified concerns can be found on the <a href="http://www.eisgatewaypacificwa.gov/get-involved/comment/all">GPT EIS website</a> listed under my name, for those interested.</span></div><div style="min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The authors' un-equivocated acceptance of the most optimistic projections of job and revenue generation, happening immediately, also deserve much closer scrutiny! Perhaps, this factor alone explains their enthusiastic support for GPT, since no heavy lifting on their part is required for their respective municipalities to inherit large windfalls of heretofore unanticipated revenues.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, these most optimistic projections are all predicated upon GPT being permitted, built and actually operated for decades; each of these steps are problematic at best. Even more important are the time delays implicit in the GPT timeline; the best projections will require 20 or more years before they might even be approached! Until that time, significantly less revenues would accrue to the Ferndale and Blaine entities expected (by the authors) to benefit the most from GPT.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, the other troubling aspect - entirely dismissed by the authors - is the <i>lack of benefits</i> accruing to other municipalities and entities that would be impacted by GPT and its related formidable array of supply trains and delivery vessels. That part, alone, is shocking, but don't forget yet another major omission,<i> externalizing (ignoring) the costs of impacts on all municipalities and citizens as well as the local -and global- environment!&nbsp;</i></span></div><div style="min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In any business evaluation, a thorough cost/benefit analysis is a prudent, even essential, early step.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It's difficult to understand why the authors -and the proponents- would want to truncate this analysis and accept the additional risks to the public and environment that introduces, unless they consider their anticipated gains dwarf all other considerations.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It appears the cost/benefit analysis these people propose applies only to the more limited local -and only positive- economics side of the equation, conveniently ignoring the equally important social and ecological considerations. For a truly sustainable venture to succeed, full-cost accounting (<a href="http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2011/spring/article2.html">triple bottom line</a>) is a necessity. That approach would provide a net benefit to everyone in the long-term, not just a few seeking quick, windfall profits and revenues at the expense of others.</span></div><div style="min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Although the authors claim they've 'done their homework', they have miserably failed both the exam and the course! Did they not know that former WA Governor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Spellman">John Spellman</a>, vetoed an earlier Cherry Point Terminal proposal over 30 years ago, stating that gaining a few jobs while badly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_protection">degrading the environment </a>was a bad trade-off that simply wasn't acceptable? In a Channel 9 interview on April 16, Spellman said he'd made the right decision then, and even though it did not benefit him politically, he'd make the same decision again - '<b>because it was the right thing to do'</b>.</span></div><div style="min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As the late Senator Patrick Moynihan once said, <i>'everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts'</i>. Let's be more careful of mixing up opinions with facts, because that practice can lead to very poor decision-making that will adversely impact us for many years to come. We citizens deserve consistently good decisions from our elected officials, based upon as thorough an understanding of facts &nbsp;as possible, before personal opinions are expressed, and certainly before any permits are granted and potentially harmful applications are approved.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If Mr Goodrich and Ms Onyon aren't up to this standard, why are they in office? Thank&nbsp;goodness they will not be the final decision-makers!</span></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/04/gpt-response-to-april-13-bellingham.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-5224293257808490783Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:48:00 +00002013-04-16T20:48:00.095-07:00CoalEconomicDevelopmentElectionsEnvironmentGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsPortPassagesAn unusually eventful day, this April 16;<br /><br />• Scott Walker announced he will step away from being a Port of Bellingham Commissioner at the end of this year, his 22nd. This presents an opportunity to support candidates able and willing to step up to this task, something that has become a perennial wish for the last several years.<br />Know anyone?<br /><br />• Ken Oplinger announced his resignation as Executive Director of the Bellingham/Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce and member of the Blaine City Council. He has accepted another CofC position in Santa Barbara, CA. Another opportunity to advocate for qualified people who are willing and able. Wonder if Santa Barbara will support a large Coal Export Terminal?<br /><br />• The day after yet another tragic, terrorist-like event, this one at the Boston Marathon yesterday which killed at least 3 and injured over 170. The details are now emerging, but let's hope the perpetrators are found and punished to the full extent of the law.<br /><br />• An interesting KCTS TV program with Enrique Cerna, who interviewed 4 former WA Governors; Dan Evans, John Spellman, Mike Lowry and Christine Gregoire. Spellman recalled his decisions to veto both the Northern Tier Pipeline and an earlier version of the CBI Cherry Point Terminal, saying he would do that all over again, because trading a few jobs for major environmental degradation was -and is- a bad idea. How's that for guts? BTW, Spellman is a Republican.<br /><br />• I've been asked to write a Letter-To-Editor in response to a recent <a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/04/13/2951539/terminals-family-wage-jobs-taxes.html">Bellingham Herald editorial</a> authored by&nbsp;<span style="color: #323333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Brent Goodrich who serves on the Ferndale City Council and Bonnie Onyon who serves on the Blaine City Council. This will be submitted shortly, so stay tuned.</span>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/04/passages.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-6446278061925852843Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:31:00 +00002013-03-31T21:31:32.999-07:00CoalGovernmentPoliticsCoal: GPT Summary Scoping Report<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Last Friday, March 29, the GPT MAP Team issued online, its Summary Scoping Report which incorporates the public Scoping Comments submitted during the 4-month period ending January 22, 2013.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This new141-page pdf document is <a href="http://www.eisgatewaypacificwa.gov/sites/default/files/content/files/GPT_Scoping_Report.pdf#overlay-context=node/24">available at this URL</a>:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier, Floyd Mackay published a 3-part series of articles on Crosscut, as shown following.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As usual, he nails what the key issues are and the likely process to occur looking forward.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/03/19/coal-ports/113431/coal-arguments-peabody-gateway-jobs-environment/">Part 1.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.1em;">Coal Wars: Export backers push jobs, try to limit environmental review</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/03/20/coal-ports/113432/coal-port-opponents-rail-crossings-health-climate-/">Part 2</a>.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.1em;">Coal Wars: Port opponents make big use of access to information</span></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/03/21/coal-ports/113433/coal-port-elections-council-legislature-inslee/">Part 3.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.1em;">Coal Wars: How voters are shaping their leaders' decisions</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">An additional Crosscut Article by&nbsp;Lisa Stiffler&nbsp;addresses the <a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/03/27/animals-wildlife/113579/mysterious-decline-Puget-Sound-herring/%20http://daily.sightline.org/2013/03/28/the-reality-of-coal-jobs-canadian-edition/">Puget Sound Herring decline issue</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Stay tuned for future developments during review of the Summary Scoping Report.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Decision-making could occur around this November according to a reliable source.</span>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/03/coal-gpt-summary-scoping-report.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-4362680107387697997Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:07:00 +00002013-03-13T13:07:40.811-07:00ElectionsGovernmentPlanningGrowthStormwaterWater/SewerWater: White Smoke Over Whatcom County?Having just watched the joyful ceremonies that confirmed the election of Pope Francis I in Rome, it seems we have also experienced our own 'white smoke' event here in Bellingham.<br />By all early indications, the election of Pope Francis I is being viewed as a very popular choice that emphasizes humility and the communication of true caring for all humanity.<br />A very worthy and timely choice, indeed!<br />-----------------------<br /><br />Today's Gristle carried <a href="http://www.cascadiaweekly.com/currents/opinion/algebra_of_reconveyance_committed_to_proof">this story about the likely Reconveyance vote</a> - before actual results were known.<br />Last night's County Council meeting was also <a href="http://sweeneypolitics.com/2013/03/12/liveblogging-the-reconveyance-vote/">live-blogged by Riley Sweeney</a>, but, again, terminated before the actual decision was made.<br />But, this morning <a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/03/13/2917844/in-5-2-vote-county-council-approves.html">The Herald finished the story complete with the final vote</a>.<br /><br />Who knew that our Whatcom County Council would also tangibly demonstrate its commitment to a higher cause than the politics of division?<br />Like many others I had faith that the Council would eventually come to the right decision after several years of careful deliberation, but faith is always renewed by good acts that actually come to pass.<br />And so it was that the long-debated DNR Reconveyance of over 8 thousand acres of forestland around the Lake Whatcom Reservoir came to pass late last night by a recorded final vote of 5 to 2.<br />Thank goodness for that outcome!<br /><br />Now, we have added assurance that we are on the right track in preserving a precious natural resource.<br />And, that future policy is more likely to follow and augment this example of forward-looking leadership, greatly aided and abetted by strong follower-ship by thousands of concerned citizens.<br />Next, comes a focus on more enlightened land use policies and storm water regulations that support the implicit policy of preservation that underlies last night's Reconveyance decision.<br /><br />More very difficult decisions will be required to address the severe water degradation challenges identified by DOE's recent TMDL Report.<br />That means the Lake Whatcom Watershed must be viewed and treated differently than before; no longer to be considered as either an area for affordable housing or luxury&nbsp;mega-home&nbsp;sites for the wealthy, but a place to be respected for its critical importance as our long-term drinking water source.<br /><br />Fortunately, de-emphasizing development of all sorts fits the idea of allowing this watershed to more closely mimic nature, which is known to be both the most effective and least expensive way to control harmful run-off into the Reservoir. An added benefit could be that additional properties will be made reasonably available for conservation purposes, thereby achieving a further desirable 'tipping point' in public opinion and perception.<br /><br />I am thankful that the Reconveyance decision has been made, because it helps guide those additional right-minded decisions that must be made in the future.<br />---------------------------------http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/03/water-white-smoke-over-whatcom-county.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-5785467468621160307Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:26:00 +00002013-03-12T12:26:41.888-07:00ElectionsEnvironmentGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsWater/Sewer10 WATER LAWS OF THE WEST<br /><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">During a recent visit to San Francisco, I had the pleasure of taking an ALL course about California's 'Water Wars', a fascinating subject that also has applicability to our situation here in Whatcom County.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">With long awaited County Council vote on the 8400-acre&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">reconveyance</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">&nbsp;of DNR forest lands around the&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lake Whatcom Reservoir about to happen, perhaps a little humor tinged with reality is in order. Anyway, below is reprinted a copyrighted article by Hugh Holub that can also be accessed <a href="http://www.bandersnatch.com/water.htm">at this website</a>.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><b>10 WATER LAWS OF THE WEST</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline;">Introduction:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> It does not take a law degree to understand water law and policy in the western United States.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Ten basic legal and historical principles govern the rights to and uses of water in the West. By understanding these ten Water Laws of the West anyone can then understand the current issues of water and its relationship to the future of the West.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">I. The Law of Gravity</span>: The First Water Law of the West is the Law of Gravity. Water runs down hill. The initial uses of water in the West involved the use of gravity to tap rivers and divert their flows into canals for delivery to farms and mines. This is also known as Newton's Law.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">II. The Law of Los Angeles:</span> The Second Water Law of the West is the original law of Los Angeles. This L.A. Law states that "water runs uphill to money". The development of energy technologies to lift water against the pull of gravity is the basis for modern Western civilization. Los Angeles pioneered the effort to defy gravity with money in the early 1900's with its Owens Valley Aqueduct. Southern California is now served with a network of pipelines and canals such as the Metropolitan Water District's Colorado River Aqueduct. Phoenix, San Francisco and Denver also utilize massive pumping and diversion systems to transport water from great distances in defiance of gravity to serve their growing urban populations.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">III. The Law of Supply Creating Demand</span>: The Third Water Law of the West, also invented by Los Angeles, is that "if you don't have the water, you won't need it." This is sometimes stated as "he who brings the water brings the people". Both are attributed to William Mulholland, a pioneer director of the Los Angeles Department of Water &amp; Power (DWP). Los Angeles and other Western cities operate on the premise that in order to assure growth of their cities, water supplies for the future must be developed well in advance of that growth. This is in contrast to the general approach in Western cities of developing freeways and other public infrastructure long after the growth has actually happened.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">IV. The Law of I Got It First</span>: The Fourth Water Law of the West, embodied in the West's surface water laws, is the doctrine of "prior appropriation" translated into "first in time is first in right". First in time for most water uses in the West were farms and mines. Instead of "first in time is first in right", we have seen the evolution of "we've got more votes than you in the state legislature" to decide who gets water.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">V. The Law of Beneficial Use</span>: The Fifth Water law of the West is that to have a right to water it must be "beneficially" or "reasonably" used on that appurtenant land. This is only understood in the context that water left flowing in a river maintaining the survival of fish in that river and vegetation growing along side that river was not originally defined as a "beneficial" use in Western water law, whereas drowning gophers or growing rice in deserts were deemed "beneficial" uses. In recent years, environmentalists have succeeded in gaining recognition of "in-stream" beneficial uses of water and a new category of water rights is beginning to emerge to preserve flows in rivers. However this process is emerging only after most rivers and streams in the West have been dammed and dried up by diversions of the flows to the previously established beneficial uses. To fully appreciate why this happened, it must be remembered that the fish in these streams only recently were able to obtain the services of water lawyers via various environmental and conservation organizations.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">VI. The Law of Worthless Land</span>: The Sixth Water Law of the West is that without a water right or access to water, land is worthless. There is not enough water available to use all available land for all the potential beneficial uses. Thus lands with water rights or access to water have value for use, whereas land without water rights is known as the desert, with zero value except when being subjected to state and local property taxation. It is also a historic fact that farmers, ranchers and miners figured all this out about a hundred years before the average city council or environmental group, thus most Western water laws are heavily weighted in favor of using water for farming, ranching and mining. This law is also known as the "appurtenancy" rule meaning the rights to the use of water are tied to specific parcels of land, which are usually owned by farmers, ranchers or miners.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">VII. The Law of Expropriation</span>: The Seventh Water Law of the West focuses on how water (and other natural resources) are obtained for Western civilization. This Law depends on finding some fairly impoverished and unsophisticated water right holder (usually Indians, farmers, or rural communities) on the other side of the mountain a city can steal water rights from. Los Angeles pioneered this approach by buying up the Owens Valley on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada for water rights nearly 90 years ago. What we are now experiencing is not so much a water shortage, but a shortage of people on the other sides of the mountains who are willing to let their water resources be stolen from them by cities.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">VIII. The Law of the Price is Right</span>: The Eighth Water Law of the West is that there is no water shortage if the price is right. It is widely believed in city halls that the farmers will sell their water rights if the price is high enough so the farmers can go raise martinis in La Jolla instead of cotton in the Salt River Valley of Arizona, or the Imperial Valley in California. Thus when someone asks "is there enough water for Los Angeles or Phoenix to grow?" the answer is probably yes--if you don't care about how <span style="text-decoration: underline;">much</span> the water will cost.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">IX. The Law of Water Monopoly</span>: The Ninth Water Law of the West is that water management in an arid environment almost always results in the creation of a water monopoly. Thus (along with the discovery of fire and religion) the first steps towards civilization included the construction of irrigation ditches and the immediate creation of some sort of bureaucracy to run the system. Not surprisingly where irrigation water monopoly civilizations rose, they lasted for <span style="text-decoration: underline;">thousands</span> of years. The Westlands Irrigation District in the Central Valley of California and the Salt River Project in Arizona are merely the modern counterparts of one of humankind's most ancient of institutions--the water monopoly. Many western urban areas figured out the value of water monopoly and created enormously powerful regional agencies such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District in Arizona, to do essentially the same thing--building vast networks of canals to bring water to their constituents.</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">X. The Law of Vanishing Civilizations</span>: The Tenth (or Last) Water Law of the West should be called the Hohokam Law of Water and Gravity. Under this law, if there is no rain, there is no water to flow down hill. What went up--the buildings and the civilization--may crumble to dust if Mother Nature decides to hold a long drought. Lying beneath the streets of Phoenix are the ruins of the ancient Hohokam Indian metropolis that vanished prior to 1400 AD. Phoenix is the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">second</span> city to be built on the same site in reliance on the erratic flows of the Salt River. Californians prayed for rain for the last six years (apparently successfully) because they didn't have enough water to flush their toilets. Many Southern Californians had been heard to ask "what do you mean this used to be a desert?"</div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Conclusion</span>: The principles that govern Western water law and policy have a long and somewhat distinguished history. It should also be noted that similar arid environment ditch-dependent civilizations ultimately collapsed under extreme environmental stresses, internal political conflict, and invasion by barbarian hordes. This is worth contemplating after a six year drought with various water interests fighting over who will get water in times of future shortages while the streets of Santa Monica or Scottsdale are filled with RVs with New Jersey license plates.</div></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/03/10-water-laws-of-west.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-1370013620364151708Sat, 02 Mar 2013 21:15:00 +00002013-03-02T16:30:01.182-08:00Personal10 Books Worth Reading<i>'I cannot live without books' - Thos Jefferson</i><br />---------------------------<br />Among the millions of books, these 10 are what I've enjoyed during the past several weeks:<br /><br />1. Who Stole the American Dream? - Hedrick Smith (analysis of the origins of current fiscal woes)<br /><br />2. Einstein - Walter Isaacson (incorporates new information from family papers)<br /><br />3. The Quest - Daniel Yergin (analysis of current energy use, plus related security &amp; environmental issues)<br /><br />4. The Racketeer - John Grisham (typical story of crime made right, happy ending for the hero)<br /><br />5. Drift - Rachel Maddow (documentation of trend toward repeated undeclared wars &amp; CIA actions)<br /><br />6. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (Henry VIII's creation of Anglican Church to enable divorce from Queen Catherine and marriage to Anne Boleyn, seen through the eyes &amp; wit of Thomas Cromwell, advisor)<br /><br />7. Bring Up The Dead - Hilary Mantel (sequel to Wolf Hall wherein Anne Boleyn, et al are executed to enable Henry VIII's marriage to Jane Seymour, again through eyes &amp; wit of Thomas Cromwell)<br />Note: another sequel to follow, completing a trilogy.<br /><br />8. Thomas Jefferson; The Art of Power - Jon Meacham (an examination of Jefferson's method of asserting power through learning, persuasion, enlistment of allies and personal leadership)<br /><br />9. The Yellow Birds - Kevin Powers (a novel depicting the trauma of war and its often disturbing effect on combat participants)<br /><br />10. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher - Timothy Egan (documentary of the work of Edward Curtis, photographer who captured historic native American culture on film)<br /><br />Additionally, I'm reading King Lear - William Shakespeare, in preparation for seeing the play in Ashland, OR<br />------------------------<br />These 10 books are varied in subject matter, but most of them deal with current&nbsp;or recurring human&nbsp;themes and issues.<br />All are interesting reads.<br /><br /><br /><br />http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/03/10-books-worth-reading.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-2925651143556387954Fri, 18 Jan 2013 05:13:00 +00002013-01-17T21:16:18.891-08:00CoalCoal: GPT EIS Comment No. 32The ancient concept of USUFRUCT in civil law has been defined as "The right of enjoying a thing, the property of which is vested in another, and to draw from the same all the profit, utility and advantage which it may produce, provided it be without degrading or altering the substance of the thing."<br /><br />This concept can be applied to the property currently owned by SSA-Marine and proposed for use as a large coal export terminal. As owner, SSA is certainly entitled to the beneficial use of this property. But, what about properties nearby and otherwise inextricably connected due to the necessity of transporting the coal to and from the proposed GPT facility?<br /><br />These include the mining sites in Montana; the railroad routes likely to carry coal to GPT; the public & private rights of way which the trains must traverse; the water bodies which must be crossed to convey the coal to its intended Asian markets; the soil, water and air likely to be harmfully impacted by the mining, transport, handling and eventual burning of the coal, among others.<br /><br />These connected soils -including coal- already have natural and useful purposes, including agriculture and vegetation, sites for human occupation and use, ancestral sacred history, and the like.<br /><br />The connected waters also have highly beneficial uses, for irrigation, human consumption, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, transport of valuable cargo and humans, and ecological purposes we are only beginning to fully understand.<br /><br />The air -essential to human life- will be tangibly degraded and global climate impacts will accelerate, with the greenhouse gases associated with every step in the mining to burning process.<br /><br />These natural resources -air, water and soil- belong to everyone in common and should not be allowed to degrade solely because of commercial interests. We, the public owners, need to have a forceful voice in deciding whether the GPT coal export scheme really serves our collective interests well enough to allow it to proceed.<br /><br />Each of these public resources contains significant usufructuary value and should not be arbitrarily degraded without the express consent of the public impacted.<br /><br />Please see to it that the potentially harmful impacts to the soils, waters and air belonging to us all are carefully documented and evaluated thoroughly before any decision is made to approve any part of the GPT application.http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2013/01/coal-gpt-eis-comment-no-32.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-6847155421173070600Fri, 14 Dec 2012 20:50:00 +00002012-12-14T12:59:39.787-08:00CoalGovernmentPoliticsCoal: Bellingham's GPT Scoping Comments<br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Here is the text of a letter the City of Bellingham intends to submit as its latest comprehensive GPT EIS Scoping Comments:</b></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">December 12, 2012</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">GPT/Custer Spur EIS</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">c/o CH2M HILL</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1100 112th Avenue NE Suite 400 <br />Bellevue, WA 98004</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">RE:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Scoping Comments for the Gateway Pacific Terminal Environmental Impact Statement</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear Sir or Madam:</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These scoping comments are submitted to you on behalf of the Mayor of the City of Bellingham and the Bellingham City Council.&nbsp; The following comments are meant to address both on and off-site potential impacts of the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) project to the City of Bellingham and its Urban Growth Areas and are organized according to the negative impacts the project may have on the City's Legacies and Strategic Commitments, as further discussed below and attached for your reference.</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On July 23, 2012 the Bellingham City Council adopted Resolution 2012-22, which is attached to this letter. The Resolution highlighted the potential that additional off-site infrastructure within the City may be necessary for the GPT project to function as proposed at full-build out in 2026, which may adversely impact the City's ability to achieve its Legacies and Strategic Commitments.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore, the City is providing the following specific scoping comments for consideration and inclusion in the Final Scoping Document in order to inform the various alternatives to be studied in the EIS.</span></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">1. &nbsp; Please analyze the cumulative impacts of all currently proposed coal export facilities and/or dry bulk commodity terminals within Washington and Oregon in a Cumulative Impact Analysis pursuant to the National Environmental Protection Act. Specifically, please analyze the cumulative impact to existing freight and passenger train traffic capacity in Washington State as well as the cumulative impacts to natural and cultural resources resulting from the increase in freight train trips within Washington State and vessel traffic within Puget Sound, Georgia Straight and the Columbia River.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">&nbsp; </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">We acknowledge that the BP Refinery located within the Cherry Point Industrial Area has applied for permits to develop new railroad (loop) infrastructure on their own property. The proposed improvements are intended to accommodate a planned for increase in trains carrying crude oil from the Midwest to their facilities at Cherry Point. BP has forecasted that they expect one additional train every two days to travel on the BNSF line traveling through Bellingham to the Custer Spur and then to the refinery itself. Please include this additional train traffic in the Cumulative Impact Analysis.</span>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">2. &nbsp; Please analyze the increase in impacts to the health and welfare of the citizens of Bellingham including impacts from diesel emissions from trains and ships, coal dust, noise and the potential for increased rail/car and rail/pedestrian accidents through a comprehensive independent third party Health Impact Assessment.</span>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">3. &nbsp; Please analyze the impacts to existing freight train and passenger train service, including impacts to shared capacity by the addition of up to 18 additional bulk-commodity train trips per day on Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad infrastructure (Bellingham Subdivision Mainline), between Mount Vernon, Washington and the GPT.</span>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">4. &nbsp; Please analyze the impacts to the elements of the environment, as specified in WAC 197-11-444, which would result from the construction / development of a new railroad siding partially or wholly within the City in order to facilitate / accommodate the addition of up to 18 additional bulk-commodity train trips per day on the Bellingham Subdivision Mainline (BSM) between Mount Vernon and the GPT.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The following comments relate to the City's potentially affected resources and are categorized in relation to the City's <u>Legacies and Strategic Commitments</u>. The City expects these resources to be adversely impacted by the increase of up to 18 additional freight train trips traveling through the City of Bellingham every day at the time of full build out of the GPT. We request that the "increase" in impacts resulting from this action be analyzed through the EIS process for each element list below.</span></span><br /><ol><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please analyze the increase in impacts within an EIS to the following elements, related to the City's <u>"Healthy Environment Legacy,"</u> which commits the City to protect the health of Bellingham Bay and its ecological functions, as well as reduce contributions to climate change:</span></span></li></ol><ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Marine species, vegetation and the water quality of Bellingham Bay and its pocket estuaries as a result of increased coal dust from open container cars and increased diesel particulates from locomotives;</span></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Marine species, aquatic vegetation and water quality due to an increase in vessel traffic and vessel anchorage;</span></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Air quality of park and recreation users related to increased dust and increased particulates from open container cars and locomotives due&nbsp; to idling of those locomotives to the proximity of BSM&nbsp;to heavily used City park and trail amenities; &nbsp;</span></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Upland wildlife habitat, connectivity and accessibility to park lands and greenway habitat corridors as a result of an increase in the amount, frequency and length of commodity trains;</span></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Air quality, the marine environment and upland vegetation, resulting from the various methods of handling, moving and storing coal and other similar commodities from the moment it arrives at the terminal via train to its deposition into the cargo vessel;</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Marine near-shore environment from an increase in noise and vibration due to additional, longer and more frequent freight train trips along the BSM;</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">&nbsp;</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Noise from increased train traffic on park users, riverine and estuarine fish and wildlife and related habitat; and</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Potentially unstable slopes located on or adjacent to public and private lands especially those within the Edgemoor, South Hill, Birchwood and Columbia Neighborhoods as a result of additional, longer and more frequent freight train trips along the BSM;</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">&nbsp;</span></li></ul></ul><ol><li>Please analyze the increase in impacts within an EIS to the following elements related to the City's Legacy of <u>"Vibrant and Sustainable Economy,"</u> which commits the City to support and promote a thriving local economy across all sectors, public and private investment as well as preservation of farmland and agricultural economy;</li></ol><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li>Existing and planned land use and economic development potential within the City's Central Business District, the Waterfront District, Old Town and Fairhaven, all of which have development potential west of the BSM as a result of additional, longer and more frequent freight train trips;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Property values and assessments and the impacts to services resulting from a potential decrease in property tax revenue;&nbsp;</span></li></ul><ul style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Job retention and creation within the City of Bellingham;</span></span></li></ul><ul style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Bellingham's economy from increased train traffic related to tourism use of public park property within proximity of the rail line;</span></span></li></ul><ul style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tribal nations, local and regional fishing industries resulting from the increase in vessel traffic and marine infrastructure within the Strait of Georgia and the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve.&nbsp;</span></span></li></ul></blockquote><ol><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please analyze the increase in impacts within an EIS to the following elements related to the City's Legacy of <u>"Sense of Place,"</u> which commits the City to support and protect neighborhoods, historic and cultural resources, as well as natural settings and access to open space:&nbsp;</span></span></li></ol><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li>Resulting from additional freight train trips on the BSM on recreation resources and social benefits of the Bellingham parks and open space system;</li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Impacts of additional, longer and more frequent freight train trips along the BSM, as well as related infrastructure, including fencing, signals, siding, tracking, to the quality of public parks, open space and trails, and to scenic water views;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Impacts of potential expansion of tracking or sidings associated with the increased rail traffic on public park lands and access to those lands, including impacts due to acquisition and/or eminent domain of properties that have a potential for future public access; &nbsp;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Impacts of trains idling to adjacent park land, including public access, emergencies and operational access, noise, dust;</span></span></li></ul></blockquote><ol><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please analyze the increase in impacts within an EIS on to the following elements&nbsp; related to the City's Legacy of <u>"Safe and Prepared Community,"</u> which commits the City to preventing and responding to emergencies and crime, as well as increasing community readiness and resilience:</span></span></li></ol><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Paramedic response times and services of City of Bellingham's Fire and Police Departments as well as Whatcom Medic One and Fire District 7;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Emergency response times for Medic One and Fire District 7 paramedics within and beyond the northern portions of the City;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Safety of the general public resulting from&nbsp; fire in a coal car, including idling locomotives and train derailments or collisions;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Impacts resulting from accelerated wear and tear on the rails themselves, ties, supporting ballast, bridges, crossings and tunnels.</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Public access issues, including delays in emergency response time and operational access, caused by increased rail traffic, to existing and future park lands along the rail right of way;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Existing rights of way, both opened and unopened, that provide access to public lands and shorelines;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Public and private property resulting from any potential spill on land or water during transport, storage or handling, including any spill due to a ship collision.&nbsp;</span></span></li></ul></blockquote><ol><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please analyze the increase in impacts within an EIS on the following elements related to the City's Legacy <u>"Mobility and Connectivity Options,"</u> which commits the City to providing safe and well connected mobility options for all users as well as increase infrastructure for non-vehicular modes of transportation:</span></span></li></ol><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The safety of park users as a direct result of increased rail traffic.&nbsp; Many existing legal access points to parks and trails involve at-grade rail crossings;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Mobility and connectivity between on-street and off street non-motorized pedestrian and bicycle systems;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Existing and proposed trail systems, including the Coast Millennium Trail, Bay to Baker Trail, Nooksack Loop Trail, all of which are identified in the City's Comprehensive Plan as well as proposed trail systems and linkages within and along the shoreline in the Waterfront District;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Crossing safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit buses, automobiles, and freight delivery vehicles;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Traffic congestion backing up into other intersections, blocking access to side streets, alleys, and driveways;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Access to and from Amtrak passenger trains, the Alaska Ferry Terminal, other marine transportation tenants stationed at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the Community Boating Center and the Port of Bellingham's Fairhaven boat launch facilities and the effect on Bellingham's tourism income.</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The following at-grade street crossings all within the City limits:</span></span></li></ul><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Harris Avenue (Fairhaven)</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">6</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>th </sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Street north of Harris Avenue (Fairhaven)</span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Bayview Drive (Boulevard Park)&nbsp;</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">South Bay Trail @ Boulevard Park</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Pine and Wharf Street (Waterfront District)</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Cornwall Avenue (Waterfront District)</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">West Laurel Street (Waterfront District)</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Central Avenue (Old Town)</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“C” Street (Old Town)</span></span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">"F" Street (Old Town)</span></span></li></ul></blockquote></blockquote><ol><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please analyze the following items related to the City's Legacy <u>"Quality, Responsive City Services,"</u> which commits the City to delivering efficient, effective and accountable services, and transparent processes to involve stakeholders in decisions:</span></span></li></ol><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Associated costs of transportation improvements necessary to mitigate safety, congestion, and access issues resulting from an increase in freight train trips as part of the GPT proposal.</span></span></li></ul></blockquote><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is important to note that the City concurs with the October 22, 2012 letter from Buri, Funston and Mumford Attorneys at Law, which asserts that the GPT proposal is a "major development" as defined in Whatcom County Code (WCC) 20.88.010 and therefore is required to satisfy the "major development criteria," as specified in WCC 20.88.130.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As the project qualifies as a major project, the applicant is responsible for demonstrating &nbsp; compliance with the criteria listed in WCC 20.88.130, including a showing that the project will not impose uncompensated requirements for public expenditures for additional utilities, facilities and services, will not impose uncompensated costs on other property owned and will be appropriately responsive to any EIS prepared for the project.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is vital that any off-site infrastructure that is necessary for the project be considered as part of the project proposal itself, as required by WCC 20.88.130(6).&nbsp; If the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Army Corps of Engineers and Whatcom County (the "Co-Leads) does not require that the off-site infrastructure be considered as part of the project, then that infrastructure should be included as a condition precedent to the establishment of the major development, as required by WCC 20.88.140 or, considered as a reasonable alternative to the proposal and be analyzed pursuant to both SEPA and NEPA. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The City looks forward to the inclusion of the study of these potential impacts as part of the GPT project EIS.</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sincerely,</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kelli Linville<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Terry Bornemann</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mayor<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>City Council President</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Attachments:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Legacies &amp; Strategic Commitments</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Resolution 2012-22</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">[Note: these two attachments are pdf documents which I could not figure out how to display here.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">They will be available on the City's website]</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">=================================================</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><u><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Recent published articles on Coal Export:</span></b></u></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><a href="http://crosscut.com/2012/12/10/coal-ports/111892/coal-train-impacts-feared-along-sound-seattle/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Coal train impacts feared along the Sound | Crosscut.com</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://crosscut.com/2012/12/13/coal-ports/111981/seattle-coal-port-hearing/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Seattle turns out to oppose proposed coal port | Crosscut.com</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/12/14/2803170/coal-terminal-rally-hearing-in.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">More than 2,000 attend coal terminal hearing in Seattle | Cargo Terminal | The Bellingham Herald</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://earthfix.opb.org/multimedia/slideshows/at-seattle-meeting-strong-opposition-for-gateway-p/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">EarthFix · Oregon Public Broadcasting</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019899522_coalhearing14m.html?syndication=rss"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Coal-export hearing packed, mostly by opponents | Local News | The Seattle Times</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/12/13/seattle-pr-firms-are-doing-coals-dirty-work-study/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Seattle PR firms are doing “coal’s dirty work”: study | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://getwhatcomplanning.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Get Whatcom Planning</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/12/13/2802303/coal-export-hearings-in-vancouver.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">SEATTLE: Protests ahead of Wash. coal terminal hearing | Northwest News | The Bellingham Herald</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/12/13/2802392/gaiser-hall-packed-for-hearing.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hearing on Gateway Pacific coal project draws hundreds in Vancouver | Cargo Terminal | The Bellingham Herald</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2012/12/13/look-whos-taking-coal-money/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Look Who’s Taking Coal Money | Sightline Daily</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://crosscut.com/2012/12/13/op-ed/111965/coal-ports-are-bad-idea-both-washington-and-china/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Coal ports are bad idea for both Washington and China | Crosscut.com</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://earthfix.kuow.org/communities/article/where-coal-divides-community-remains/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">EarthFix · Where Coal Divides, Community Remains · KUOW</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://ecowatch.org/2012/coal-export-hearing/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Waterkeepers Join Thousands at Final Public Hearing on Proposed Coal Export Terminals – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement</span></a><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/12/09/2795284/debate-over-coal-exports-in-pacific.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Debate over coal exports leaves out some communities along route, critics charge | Cargo Terminal | The Bellingham Herald</span></a></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ship+crashes+into+dock+Westshore+Terminals/7667184/story.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ship crashes into dock at Westshore Terminals, spilling coal into water (with video)</span></a></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2012/12/06/video-sightline-on-coal-exports/?utm_source=Sightline+Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=21e047675b-SightlineWeekly&amp;utm_medium=email"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Video: Sightline on Coal Exports | Sightline Daily</span></a></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/earthmatters/city-calls-port-metro-vancouver-delay-coal-export-expansion"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">City calls on Port Metro Vancouver to delay coal export expansion | The Vancouver Observer</span></a></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/12/planned_oregon_coal_export_ter.html"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Planned Oregon coal export terminal would exceed pollution standards, Sierra Club charges | OregonLive.com</span></a></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://crosscut.com/2012/12/03/coal-ports/111757/coal-supporters-make-their-push/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Coal supporters make their push | Crosscut.com</span></a></span><br /><div style="min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/dec/04/shipping-of-coal-topic-of-hearing/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Coal backers hire temp workers to stand in line - Spokesman.com - Dec. 4, 2012</span></a></span><br /><div><br /></div><br />http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/12/coal-bellinghams-gpt-scoping-comments.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-4932877097488991838Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-12-10T12:00:06.388-08:00CoalCoal: GPT EIS Scoping Comments Summary<a href="http://crosscut.com/2012/12/10/coal-ports/111892/coal-train-impacts-feared-along-sound-seattle/">Another excellent article</a> by Floyd Mckay appears today in Crosscut.<br />------------------------<br /><div style="font-size: 12px;">Here are the concerns I have submitted as GPT EIS comments to date:</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/12/coal-gpt-eis-comment-no-31.html">Coal: GPT EIS Comment No. 31</a> Sunday, December 9, 2012&nbsp;</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Concerns Based on Reality</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/12/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-30.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 30</a> Saturday, December 1, 2012&nbsp;</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Programmatic EIS Needed to Counter&nbsp;Applicant's Local PR Campaign</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-29.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 29</a> Friday, November 30, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Diminution in value of my home &amp; other properties</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-28.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 28</a>&nbsp; Thursday, November 29, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Does GPT mean Gambling Public Trust?</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-27.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 27</a>&nbsp; Wednesday, November 28, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">San Juan Islands&nbsp;National Conservation Area</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-26.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 26</a> Tuesday, November 27, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Tugs, Pilots, Spill Response &amp; Rescue Vessels</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-25.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 25</a> Monday, November 26, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Non-reimbursed Government Expenses</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no24.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No.24</a>&nbsp; Thursday, November 1, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Proposed BNSF Bellingham Siding &amp; Idling Track</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-eis-scoping-comments-no-21-22-23.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comments No. 21, 22, 23</a> Wednesday, October 31, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Liability Responsibility</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Train Noise</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Misuse of U.S. Coal Resources</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-20.html">Coal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 20</a> Tuesday, October 30, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Loss of Use of Parks &amp; Trails</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-19.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 19</a> Friday, October 12, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Tribal Concerns</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-18.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 18</a> Thursday, October 11, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">GPT: The Liability Labyrinth Linchpin</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-17.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 17</a> Wednesday, October 10, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Impacts on Property Values, Taxes &amp; Levels of Service</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-16.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 16</a> Tuesday, October 9, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Climate Change: Who's Responsible?</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-15.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 15</a> Monday, October 8, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Wasteful Water Use</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-14.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 14</a> Sunday, October 7, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Chuckanut Drive Landslide Hazard</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-13.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 13</a> Saturday, October 6, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Coal Dust Clouds?</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-12.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 12</a> Friday, October 5, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Purpose = Need?</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-11.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 11</a> Thursday, October 4, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Bulk Carrier Vessel Concerns</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-10.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 10</a> Wednesday, October 3, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Waterfront Redevelopment</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-comment-no-9.html">GPT: EIS Comment No. 9</a> Tuesday, October 2, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Financial Underpinnings</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/10/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-8.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 8</a> Monday, October 1, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Vessel &amp; Rail Capacity &amp; Congestion</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/gpt-scoping-comment-no-7.html">GPT: Scoping Comment No. 7</a> Sunday, September 30, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Safety &amp; Levels of Service at Rail Crossings</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/gpt-eis-comment-no-6_29.html">GPT: EIS Comment No. 6</a> Saturday, September 29, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Lake Terrell Wildlife Preserve</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-5.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 5</a> Friday, September 28, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Is GPT Appropriate For Cherry Point?</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/gpt-eis-comment-no-4.html">GPT: EIS Comment No. 4</a> Thursday, September 27, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Vessels, Jobs &amp; Cold-Ironing</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-3.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 3</a> Wednesday, September 26, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Corporate Structure &amp; Responsability</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/gpt-eis-scoping-comment-no-2.html">GPT: EIS Scoping Comment No. 2</a> Wednesday, September 26, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Scope of Project</div><div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/coal-adding-insult-to-injury.html">Coal: Adding Insult to Injury</a> Monday, September 24, 2012</div><div style="font-size: 12px;">Incomplete Application</div><div><br /></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/12/coal-gpt-eis-scoping-comments-summary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-126241269197452779Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:37:00 +00002012-12-09T15:37:03.381-08:00CoalEnergyEnvironmentGovernmentHealthcarePoliticsStormwaterTaxesTransportationWaterfrontCoal: GPT EIS Comment No. 31<u><b>Concerns Based on Reality</b></u><br /><br />Several recent events and actions lend credence to concerns by citizens, including these:<br />• The coal conveyor &amp; access damage at the nearby&nbsp;Westshore Coal Terminal in BC resulting from a late night collision by a large Bulk Carrier vessel <i>with a pilot on board</i>.<br />• The railroad bridge collapse south of Bellingham on the BNSF main line used by heavy coal trains.<br />• The derailment of a coal train east of Tri-Cities, spilling 34 loaded cars.<br />• The protracted delays of traffic in Skagit County due to a stalled coal train with brake problems.<br />• The unseemly acts by the GPT Applicant to recruit allies to pack public meetings designed to gather citizen concerns.<br />• The repeated dismissals of legitimately expressed citizen concerns as only <b><i>NIMBYism</i></b> by GPT spokespersons.<br />• The ongoing media advertising campaign designed to influence public opinion during the 120-day EIS Scoping period, <i>which advocates multiple coal terminals -not just GPT</i>- which seems like a concerted effort on behalf of an entire industry. Doesn't that justify a <b><i>programmatic EIS</i></b> approach is necessary?<br /><br />There is likely available statistical information on the frequency and severity of both large bulk vessel and coal train accidents. I request that this information be researched and applied to the rail and marine traffic projected by the Applicant for GPT.<br />Additionally, the costs to the natural environment, existing businesses, residents, governments services and facilities need to be ascertained for inclusion into the EIS evaluation.<br />A programmatic EIS appears necessary to include all of the possible impacts, whether to the GPT site or anywhere along the proposed transport routes.<br />It would also include impacts to the atmosphere, the oceans and inland waterways, the land, human health and impacts to each ecosystem likely to be affected over time.http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/12/coal-gpt-eis-comment-no-31.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-5015415941613337806Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-12-01T12:00:00.864-08:00CoalEnvironmentGovernmentPlanningGrowthPoliticsCoal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 30<u>Programmatic EIS Needed to Counter&nbsp;</u><u>Applicant's Local PR Campaign</u><br /><u><br /></u>I am concerned with the constant, expensive, misleading and one-sided propaganda being promulgated by the GPT Applicant and its supporters, many of whom are&nbsp;paid for their voices. I was most recently reminded of this effort by seeing yet another slick, primetime&nbsp;TV&nbsp;advertising feature sponsored by the so-called&nbsp;<i><b>'Alliance for Northwest Jobs &amp; Exports'</b></i>, claiming GPT has far wider support than seems credible. Their catch-phrase is&nbsp;BUILD TERMINALS HERE. BUILD JOBS HERE. This intensive campaign demonstrates an apparent dearth of business integrity, with self-serving monied interests trying to drown out legitimate public concerns by trivializing them and demeaning the credibility of GPT skeptics and opponents alike.<br /><br />In a process that&nbsp;already&nbsp;seems inherently rigged to find a way to say 'yes' to any and all proposals submitted, this Applicant is engaging in a campaign of misleading statements, testimonials and indirect lobbying of the very Whatcom County, Washington State and US Government officials, who themselves are being involuntarily sequestered and/or <u>compelled to remain impartially uninformed</u> in the EIS Scoping and evaluation exercise.<br /><br />This kind of shameless, self-serving charade -while likely not strictly illegal- simply adds to what is already widely perceived as an unfair process that will decidedly impact the future of our community, region, nation and globe.&nbsp;SSA-Marine and its backers seem to embody that strained concept that 'corporations are people and money is speech', and its corollary, wealth wins.&nbsp;Reducing this important issue to a 'pants-on-fire' political contest does not serve the overall interests of the public, which expects a fair, impartial and fact-based process likely to result in as unbiased result as possible.<br /><br />The Applicant has had its opportunity to spell out its plans, with emphasis on claimed benefits, of course. Now, the agencies need most to hear the other side of the debate, the concerns, fears, doubts about potentially harmful impacts, including an assessment of all associated costs, and what's missing that needs to be known. Fortunately, the agencies have heard enough already to conclude that a much wider scope was needed than originally anticipated, as well as more opportunities for public comment. And, both of those determinations were distinctly opposed by the Applicant, who continues to stonewall the questions it doesn't want asked and disingenuously presumes no harms can come from GPT being built and operated. Is that the profile of a corporate entity we can trust to operate a major new terminal that will necessarily attract hundreds of coal trains and ultra-large vessels to our community? Or is it a manifestation of corporate interests without the kind of business integrity that inspires respect?<br /><br />There have already been repeated requests from serious-minded people&nbsp;for broadening the EIS process&nbsp;even further&nbsp;for GPT, and considering it a part of an entire cluster of similar proposals - a so-called <b>'programmatic EIS'</b> process. That concept also seems to reflect the plainly plural meanings of the phrase&nbsp;BUILD TERMINALS HERE. BUILD JOBS HERE. doesn't it?<br />So, I also request this all-inclusive <b>programmatic EIS</b> idea be taken, and very seriously followed by the MAP Team, even though one USACE official has already stated that might be <i>'unprecedented'</i>.<br /><i>The point is, GPT, itself,&nbsp;is unprecedented</i>, despite the Applicant's self-serving claims to the contrary.&nbsp;And, sometimes, <i>precedents <b>do</b> need to be carefully set</i>. In our unique system of government, we, the citizens, get to have early and often input into exactly that precedent-setting possibility.<br /><br />Since this GPT project will impact much more than just some corporate bottom line, it should be subjected to the most thorough scoping and evaluation possible.&nbsp;If that is accomplished -with or without precedent- I am confident the resulting recommendations will likely be the correct ones, since citizen concerns would be heard, considered and and fairly factored into the final decisions made.<br /><br />http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/12/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-30.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-589986541176551538Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-11-30T12:00:06.282-08:00CoalGovernmentPoliticsTaxesCoal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 29<b style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Diminution in value of my home &amp; other properties</span></u></b><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><i>Diminution in value</i></b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;is a legal&nbsp;</span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_of_art" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" title="Term of art">term of art</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;used when calculating&nbsp;</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damages" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" title="Damages">damages</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;in a&nbsp;</span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_dispute" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" title="Legal dispute">legal dispute</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">, and describes a measure of value lost due to a circumstance or set of circumstances that caused the loss.&nbsp;</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-blacks_0-0" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1em;"></sup></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am concerned that building GPT and attracting 18 additional coal trains per day will devalue my home, as well as the properties owned by many citizens, especially those near the BNSF railway through Bellingham.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">I request that a baseline estimation of home, rental multi-family structures,&nbsp;commercial&nbsp;interests and industrial operations be officially documented by the Whatcom County Assessor, effective now, showing the aggregate Real Property Value</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;of all properties in Bellingham and Whatcom County, with special emphasis on those property parcels falling -all or partially- within 600 to 1000 feet of the BNSF mainline route to and from the proposed Cherry Point Terminal.&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Since RCW 84.40.045 requires this information to be updated periodically, this calculation ought to be fairly simple and readily available.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">The purpose of this baseline is for comparison with similar determinations to be made in the future, should GPT be permitted, built and operated as currently anticipated by the Applicant.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">It seems common to believe proximity to a busy rail freight route tends to reduce property values, especially residential and&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">commercial parcels. At least one professional report has been prepared recently that addresses this problem directly. This can be found at this URL:&nbsp;</span><a href="http://climatesolutions.org/nw-states/coal-train-study">http://climatesolutions.org/nw-states/coal-train-study</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This report considered the following factors, which are considered as harmful impacts and/or nuisances:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Access and Vehicular Traffic;&nbsp;Life Safety Issues;&nbsp;Vibration;&nbsp;Horn Noise;&nbsp;Pollution;&nbsp;Stigma and Perception;&nbsp;Property Types, Variables and Comments</b>, and came to some general&nbsp;<b>Conclusions:</b></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">• <i>"....&nbsp;the closer the distance of the property to the rail line or crossing, the greater the influence. Because of this, in general, the upper end of the range of diminution in value concluded would be expected to strongly correlate with properties located closest to the rail line or crossing. At the opposite end of the spectrum, although property with the least net total intensity of adverse influence might be expected to experience a diminution in value of less than five percent, such minimal impacts are generally considered so slight as to be effectively immeasurable; therefore, five percent has been used at the lower end of the range."</i>&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>• "<b><u>Property located north of Everett with 18 new train trips daily:&nbsp;</u></b>the applicable range of diminution in value for <b>single family residences</b>, the property type expected to suffer the most severe impacts, has been concluded to range from<u> five to twenty percent </u>of market value.&nbsp;</i><i><b>Multi-family properties</b> as a whole, are considered to be less intensely impacted for reasons discussed in this report and would be expected to suffer a loss in market value ranging from <u>five to fifteen percent</u> of market value. ....<b>Commercial properties</b> would experience loss in market value in the approximate<u> five to ten percent</u> range.....<b>Industrial properties</b>, considered the least impacted of the property types overall, would be expected to suffer a<u> five to eight percent</u> range of loss in market value.</i>&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i><i>Although this report is not intended to be used to provide an aggregate loss in value for property that would be affected by the proposed increase in coal train freight rail traffic, it is felt that the <b>total loss in value due to such influence would be substantial in terms of property market value and real estate tax revenues to taxing districts</b>."</i>&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">• "<i><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The proprietary database provided and used in this assignment indicates a total of 21,548 tax parcels for properties identified as located within 600 feet of the BNSF main line railroad tracks in the subject area of interest, with a total aggregated assessed value of <b>$26,556,663,168</b>.</span>&nbsp;</i></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If one were to assume these properties would suffer a <b>loss in assessed value of one percent</b>, the loss would be equal to approximately <b>$265 million</b>, which applied at a one percent millage rate is equivalent to an approximate<b> $2,655,000</b> in annual tax revenue loss.&nbsp;</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In my opinion,<u> the effects and impacts of the additional freight rail traffic not only affect the properties within <b>600 feet</b> of the main line, but also potentially affect property beyond this identified zone.</u> At the very least, this information indicates that the aggregate losses to market value and tax revenues could be quite substantial.&nbsp;</span></i></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I request the MAP Team take these expected impacts into careful consideration in the EIS Scoping process, because they represent very substantial tangible harm, especially to those living, working or owning property near the BNSF main rail line.</span></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-29.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-5413188494188405615Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-11-29T12:00:00.603-08:00CoalEconomicDevelopmentEnergyEnvironmentGovernmentPoliticsCoal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 28<br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Does <b>GPT</b> mean <b>G</b>ambling <b>P</b>ublic <b>T</b>rust?</u></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am concerned that the GPT proposal represents nothing more than a deliberate depletion of publicly owned coal for speculative private gain, at needless sacrifice of the human and natural environment.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When any plan seems too good to be true, often, it likely is!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Since our country has an announced goal of energy independence, why allow the export of non-renewable resources like Powder River Basin Coal?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Why not leave the coal unneeded for current domestic purposes in the ground for future emergencies, similar to we do with the strategic petroleum reserve?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Temporary over-supply of coal, petroleum &amp; oil, natural gas, bio-fuels from subsidized corn, and the like, has historically happened over time, so why not plan for it?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Shouldn't our national energy policy be determined by the Federal Administration &amp; Congress, not the wildly fluctuating global market involving 3rd-world countries?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A good practice would be to pace ourselves, emphasize energy efficiency, conservation, and development of alternate, renewable sources?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And, why would the US wish to weaken its future strength by quickly selling off its natural assets as non-value added commodities to its main competitor?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Such unprecedented shortsightedness needs to be strongly questioned, both from a public policy point of view and as a risky investment that depends on windfall profits over a few years.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Loss of coal resources, instability of promised tax revenues and jobs, impacts to public health &amp; safety and degradation of the environment, all seem to exact a heavy price to pay for a private equity gamble masquerading as beneficial and sustainable, economic growth for the public.</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While the Applicant's [SSA] other corporate collaborators are not risking significant capital themselves, SSA -backed by Goldman Sachs- really is taking a big risk.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peabody Coal will get paid by its Asian customers before it ships one lump of coal;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">BNSF will be paid for what it hauls on its tracks for Peabody;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ultra-large Bulk Carriers will be paid before they take on any coal cargo for Peabody.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, GPT is the one critical facility for which substantial investment is essential, because without it being permitted, built and operated, none of the other transactions mentioned would become enabled, nor would SSA earn any revenues from its Cherry Point proposal. &nbsp;</span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I therefore request the MAP Team press this Applicant -SSA-Marine- for its<i> pro forma</i> expectations for payback to confirm or deny that GPT is truly a project meant to sustain itself for the long life expectancy it claims.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While corporations and investors are free to take substantial monetary risks to earn higher returns, it is not healthy to collateralize those risks by foisting a deception upon local governments, citizens and the impacted natural environment.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Solid, sustainable business is not usually predicated upon quicksand-like foundations, as the GPT proposal appears to be.</span><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-28.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587684356208759123.post-216744374830721235Wed, 28 Nov 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-11-28T12:00:06.328-08:00CoalEnvironmentGovernmentPoliticsCoal: EIS Scoping Comment No. 27<u style="color: #232323;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">San Juan Islands&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">National Conservation Area</span></u><br /><div style="color: #232323; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There is much current interest in the idea of designating a&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">San Juan Islands&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">National Conservation Area, because the area is so spectacularly beautiful. This sentiment is not new; it has been widely shared by many for a long time, since all who visit this unique place enjoy the experience and want to preserve it for future generations.</span></div><div style="color: #232323; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm concerned that the very large Bulk Carrier Vessels that GPT will attract, will degrade this area and possibly even ruin it for fishing, boating and general enjoyment by the tens of thousands of people who live there or visit each year. It is difficult to conceive of any mitigation capable of undoing the irreparable harm that a spill, collision or sinking could cause, not to mention the enormous threats to small craft, ferries and recreational uses these huge vessels would certainly cause.</span></div><div style="color: #232323; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I request that the MAP Team strongly consider what preventative measures could possibly be put into place so as to minimize this threat, including all necessary costs and mandated protocols to be&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">implemented by the Applicant.</span></div>http://bellinghamstertalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/coal-eis-scoping-comment-no-27.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Watts)